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One lucky NZ ticket holder scoops $12m in last night's Lotto Powerball draw

One lucky NZ ticket holder scoops $12m in last night's Lotto Powerball draw

One lucky New Zealand ticket holder has scooped last night's Lotto Powerball jackpot and $12 million. There was just one winner in last night's draw. Tonight’s numbers were 13, 4, 40, 33, 9, and 15. The Bonus ball was 1 and the Powerball was 4. There were four Division 2 winners, each taking a share of $30,917. The $10m Lotto First Division Powerball draw was not struck on Wednesday, but one player from Christchurch did come away with some winnings. The player won $200,000 with Strike Four in the live Lotto draw, buying their ticket from Pak’nSave Riccarton. What to do if you win Ticket holders can see immediately if they have won if they purchased a ticket through MyLotto. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to the account. For prizes of more than $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form. Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize. For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct, as well as the added Powerball number.

Lucky Ōpōtiki Lotto player scoops $12.5 million Powerball jackpot

Lucky Ōpōtiki Lotto player scoops $12.5 million Powerball jackpot

The Bay of Plenty has a new multi-millionaire. Lotto NZ has revealed last night’s $12.5 million Powerball winner is from Ōpōtiki. The lucky player bought their ticket on MyLotto. The punter’s prize money was made up of $12m from the Powerball jackpot and $500,000 from Lotto First Division. Another player from Christchurch also took home half a million from First Division after buying their ticket at Hornby Mall Lotto. Lotto NZ said anyone who bought their ticket there or on MyLotto “should check their ticket as soon as possible”. Strike Four rolled over, building to $400,000 for Wednesday night’s draw. The Ōpōtiki player becomes New Zealand’s fourteenth Powerball multi-millionaire of 2025. Just three weeks ago, a Christchurch couple took home $20.25m. They were planning to pay off their mortgage and buy a new car with their winnings, and were also going to check their passports were up to date in preparation for adventures overseas. The Cantabrians, who wanted to remain anonymous, were regular players who normally only picked up a ticket when the jackpot crossed $10m. The man was getting ready to go to the gym on Sunday morning when he noticed an email from MyLotto. “It stopped me in my tracks. I thought, ‘this could be interesting’,” the man said. “I went through to the bedroom to my wife, and we watched the draw together on my phone. “Three numbers circled and that’s when my wife said, ‘wait – I’m sure I read that someone in Christchurch won Powerball last night’. “I was in complete disbelief, I kept questioning whether it was real,” the woman said. “I think my first words were ‘I think I’ve just changed our lives’,” the man said. What to do if you win Ticket holders can see immediately if they have won if they purchased a ticket through MyLotto. Prizes of $1000 or less are automatically credited to the account. For prizes of more than $1000, winners have to fill in an online prize form. Winners with a physical ticket must still visit a Lotto retailer to claim their prize. For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct, as well as the added Powerball number. Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

'That was a goody': Two earthquakes rattle Wellington, South Island

'That was a goody': Two earthquakes rattle Wellington, South Island

Two separate earthquakes have rattled people awake in Wellington, Nelson and Canterbury. “Sharpish jolt followed by a short roll here in Newtown,” one social media user said of a magnitude 4.8 quake which struck late last night, rocking the capital. DO YOU KNOW MORE? EMAIL USThe earthquake struck at 11.31pm. GeoNet said it hit at a depth of 51km about 10km south of French Pass, at the top of the South Island. “There was a definite wobble of the building,” another social media user in Wellington said. More than 7000 people reported feeling the quake on GeoNet’s website. It was felt in Marlborough, Tasman, Wellington and Taranaki. GeoNet got one report from somebody in Auckland who described the shaking as “extreme”. About an hour earlier, a magnitude 3.1 earthquake hit Christchurch. It struck at a depth of 9km and was centred within 5km of Christchurch, GeoNet said. It was reported at 10.30pm. “That was a goody,” a social media user said. Another described it as “short but sharp”, while someone else said they thought somebody was trying to break into their home. “Shallow and close, rolled through pretty fast,” one social media user said. There were more than 3000 reports of shaking on GeoNet’s website, with most describing it as “weak” or “light”. Reports came from as far as Invercargill and Dunedin, and there were two reports of shaking in Auckland. Some on social media tried guessing the magnitude before GeoNet had posted details. Others said they did not feel it, but heard it, describing it as noisy but short-lived. Next week, Canterbury will remember 15 years since a magnitude 7.1 quake hit near Darfield in the middle of the night. Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

Huthi rebels say PM killed in Israeli air strike

Huthi rebels say PM killed in Israeli air strike

Yemen’s Huthi rebels say their prime minister was killed in an Israeli air strike this week. Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi is the most senior official known to have died in a series of attacks during the Gaza war. The Iran-backed Huthis, who have launched repeated drone and missile attacks on Israel since the war erupted in October 2023, vowed to avenge the premier’s death. Rahawi, who was appointed last year, was killed along with other officials in Thursday’s attack, the rebels said. Strikes follow attacks Israel has been striking Huthi targets for months in response to the rebels’ attacks, which they say are in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. “We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi... along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Huthi statement said. “Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care.” On Thursday, Israeli forces said they “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”. Unsourced Yemeni media reports of Rahawi’s death were not confirmed at the time. Vows of revenge The Huthis called the gathering that was hit “a routine workshop organised by the Government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”. The head of the rebels’ supreme political council, Mehdi al-Mashat, vowed to avenge the killing of the prime minister and his colleagues. “We promise to God, to the dear Yemeni people and the families of the martyrs and wounded that we will take revenge,” Mashat said in a video message posted on Telegram. He warned foreign companies to leave Israel “before it’s too late”. US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed Al Basha said the Israeli operation pointed to a change in strategy after previously targeting infrastructure such as ports and power stations. Change of focus “The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure towards targeted assassinations of high-value personnel,” Basha, author of the Basha Report, told AFP. It is “an escalation that, regardless of the final casualty count, is likely to shake the Huthi leadership at its core”, he added. “This operation bears the hallmarks of a signals intelligence–driven strike, and it is possible that additional senior Huthi leaders were en route to the location.” Rahawi had made a public appearance on Wednesday, attending an event organised by the Huthi endowments ministry in Sanaa. He came from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Huthi control. The rebels have traditionally reserved the premiership for southerners in an attempt to win hearts and minds in the south. Deputy prime minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed as interim prime minister after Rahawi’s death, the Huthis said. The rebel group is part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”, an anti-Israel alliance. - Agence France-Presse